Sara Hildén

(1905 - 1993)

The Sara Hildén Foundation was established in 1962. At that time Mrs. Sara Hildén (1905 - 1993), a Tampere art collector and businesswoman, handed over her art collection to the Foundation which was named after her. The collection consisted principally of works by the Finnish modern artist Erik Enroth and dating from the period 1945 - 1962.

Once the Foundation had been established, a conscious effort was made to expand the collection. With leading Finnish art experts to help her, Mrs. Hildén herself engaged actively in the acquisition of new works. From the very beginning the aim was to create a collection of modern international art.

The Sara Hildén Foundation

The Sara Hildén Art Museum, which is the permanent home of the collection of modern art, Finnish and foreign, owned by the Sara Hildén Foundation, is maintained by the City of Tampere. The agreement between the city and the Foundation for the founding of the art museum was concluded in 1975. The museum was opened to the public on 11 February, 1979.

Sara Hildén in Venice 1964

The Sara Hildén Foundation continues to be responsible for expanding the collection, and places its acquisitions in the art museum.

The primary function of the Sara Hildén Art Museum is to maintain and place on exhibition works belonging to the Sara Hildén Foundation. The art museum also arranges changing exhibitions. These include the presentation of Finnish contemporary art and notably prestigious overviews of international modernism. The activities of the art museum also focus on research work contributing to the arranging of exhibitions, on publications and on educational missions in the field of modern art aimed at children and young people.